Man accused of following girl, exposing self in Ocala store

Tuesday

A Dunnellon man caught following a 10-year-old girl and masturbating in a children's section of a Bealls Outlet store was arrested on Monday.

OCALA - A man caught following a 10-year-old girl and masturbating in a children's section of a Bealls Outlet store was arrested on Monday.

Justin Shuman, 35, was charged with indecent exposure and with a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a person under 16, according to Ocala police.

He made his first court appearance via video link from the Marion County Jail on Tuesday morning and told County Judge Sarah Ritterhoff Williams that he is formerly from Marion County but more recently lives in South Carolina. Shuman, who is married without children, said he lost his job in October and has no savings.

Ritterhoff Williams set his bail at $16,000, appointed a public defender and ordered, as condition of his bail, that Shuman have no contact with children.

On Monday, Shuman reportedly told a police officer that what he did was being "stupid" and that he went to the children's section because the kids are young and wouldn't understand what he was doing.

A surveillance video from the Bealls Outlet at 2405 S.W. 27th Ave. shows a man following the little girl throughout the store. Then it shows him making motions with his hands near his waist.

Police were called to the store shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to a police report. An officer saw him standing about three feet from the little girl and moving his hands in the area of his privates.

Once Shuman saw the officer, he began to walk away and tried to hide. The officer detained him while Shuman tried to zip up his pants.

The officer also briefly spoke with the distraught girl, who said she saw Shuman's hand moving back and forth and that a napkin covered the area.

On Tuesday, Shuman, who apparently has no prior criminal record, made no comment following his first court appearance.

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